it was always me
by volkova21
Summary: the time travel supernatural ish one shot nobody asked for. enjoy!


Quick one shot. But I do like the premise so, if there's enough demand I might do a rewrite and flesh it out a lot more. or if someone else wants to, go for it.

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Hermione was, above all else, a bookworm, her studies were taken very seriously, and upon entering Hogwarts and discovering a new world, she only studied harder, realizing that she was now behind in this strange new world.

And so she began to spend all her free time in the library, studying of course. It had nothing to do with the ghost that also spent most of her time there. Though, if she were to be honest with herself, they had become friends rather quickly, having many similar qualities. The ghost, a student who was only a few years older than herself she had learned had died a rather tragic death, frozen outside by the lake in the dead of winter, waiting to meet with her mystery lover.

This story, ever since she had heard it as a rumor passed along by the student body, had stuck with her. It was tragically simple, and could have been prevented easily, and so she made it her mission to befriend the girl and learn the truth of the matter from her.

It wasn't until her third year when she discovered the existence of time turners. They allowed one to travel through time, as much as one wanted, and so, she followed the guidelines given to her, taking her extra courses, and doing so well at them that she continued this the same way in her fourth year.

However, during her fourth year, she began toying with making changes, a plan already forming in her mind, something she'd always had a desire to do back before she'd discovered magic. Because watching historical movies or discovering the extinction of some species due to human error, she'd had that desire to go back and "fix" things, change them so that information wasn't lost, that species still existed, or to save a life. And she had already decided, her friend, though she was a ghost, would be the first life she saved. Yes, it was against the rules, but quite frankly, she didn't care because if she did it correctly, no one would know otherwise.

Her fourth year was spent making small changes, adding things, moving objects, leaving hints of her presence behind, trying to see if anyone noticed, a scribble here, a moved quill there, a random noise along the way. And to her surprise, while she could figure out (or assume rather) that it was her, no one noticed.

And so she spent her fifth year finalizing her plans. She spent all of her free time in the library, though in actuality, little of it was spent studying. She spent it in whispered conversation with her spectral friend, learning more, asking innocent questions, trying to get more information. And by the end of her fifth year she had figured out that Fleur Delacour had been her name, she had died in 1916, sometime in the winter, December she thought, awaiting her secret admirer to meet her at the lake. She was shocked of course, to learn that the rumors weren't far off.

It was in her sixth year then, just one year below what Fleur had been in when she died, that she began her experimentation in modifying the past, she kept a journal of everything that she knew, everything that Fleur had told her about how her school year was. And she made her first trip, September 1, 1916. The start of the new year, and she would blend in as a Ravenclaw with Fleur.

Slowly, cautiously, she turned the knob, knowing this was further back than she had ever gone before. A cool breeze surrounded her, as the past flowed by, blurring as it sped up, until she was quickly deposited on the cold stone floor in 1916.

Voices sounded from the Great Hall, and she made her way to join the crowd of students eager to be returning, seeing their friends that they had missed over the summer, sharing stories and jokes. Hermione quickly shuffled to the Ravenclaw table and took a seat. She knew what Fleur looked like after having spent so much time with her ghost, but she was not prepared for the sight of the real deal. Her breath caught in her throat when she finally managed to find her amongst her friends. She certainly was one of the more popular students and for the first time, Hermione began to doubt her plan, but she had come so far, it was too late to turn back now.

So, nervously, she watched from a distance, choosing to keep to herself as much as she could. Returning to her current time in Hogwarts every night, seeking out her friend, asking her questions, trying to figure out what change were happening. But she didn't realize it until nearly a month of doing this had gone by, the changes that were occurring were very slight, things she hadn't noticed until Fleur no longer mentioned having received any gifts, or notes, or even hinting at there having been an admirer.

In fact, her story was now that she had been outside, studying on an unusually warm winter day and had fallen asleep with the sunlight beating down on her, warming her ever so gently, but there was a blizzard that night and she never woke up.

Hermione questioning these changes, had began to watch for anyone else watching Fleur, anyone who might have had any sort of crush on her, and it took only a few days to realize, there was no one else. And with this knowledge in mind, she referred to her journal, taking note of what it was Fleur had told her, and that was what she did. Leaving roses on her pillow in the evening on occasion, a note here, a box of chocolates there, sometimes a scarf or a piece of jewelry. She had lots to catch up on and not a lot of time. But gradually she began to notice it, how Fleur would begin to rush to her dorm after dinner, eagerly throwing her curtains aside and looking, tearing through her belongings, and hiding her disappointment those times there was nothing to be found.

She couldn't stand to see Fleur's disappointment, and so that was how she decided to come up with things on her own, making sure that there was something there every night. She spent her time silently watching the girl to make sure that every night wasn't 'the night'. Until finally, she had had enough, it was just before Christmas break. Hermione had long since realized the truth behind her affections for the French witch, they had just been notes, sentiments scrawled out messily without any real feeling behind them, though one day as she was writing her note, she realized the truth, she was no longer writing what she thought the other would want to hear but what she actually meant. She had, sometime in the process, during her obsession, actually fallen for her.

The note that night read simply, "Meet me tomorrow night, by the lake at midnight, I'll be waiting for you my love."

She would never make it there. She had returned to her own time, and despite her precautions, despite all her careful planning, there, in her room was Minerva McGonagall, waiting, hand outstetched, a knowing look on her face. She handed the time turner over without a word, and as soon as her Head of House left, she broke down into tears. So this is how it happened. It was her actions that killed her love the entire time. Hermione refused to leave her room for days, skipping class even, she couldn't bear to face the world. December 14th. That was it, that was the day Fleur had died. There was no longer a doubt in her mind.

She didn't return to Hogwarts the next term. She was too broken, too destroyed.

It wasn't until a year later that she finally had found a way to fix it. She managed to steal a time turner, broken into the ministry in the middle of the night and got her hands on it. Without thinking, she hastily turned it back to that date, a date she could never forget, there was no longer a plan to follow.

And so, Hermione found herself, standing by the Black Lake on December 14th, 1916, a single red rose in her hand. She turned to greet her love with a smile when she heard footsteps approaching.

Arms outstretched, she pulled Fleur into a hug with a whisper, "I love you."


End file.
